This study examines the changes of two streets in Leshan for studying how the modernization was carried out in a middle-level western city in China since 1979. It specifically focuses on how the changes in urban planning, city management, and people’s use of space have been reflected in the change of the streets. The change furtherly reveals how the power of space was gradually transferred from people to the government in this process. In addition, analyze the vibrance that the city has lost behind the achievement of infrastructure construction and economic development.